The Mets made the second trade of 2008, but it didn't land them the frontline starter they've been coveting. Instead, New York picked up Angel Pagan from the Cubs on Friday in exchange for a pair of prospects, outfielder Corey Coles and righthander Ryan Meyers.

The Big Leaguers

The 26-year-old Pagan is nothing special. His most notable attributes are his plus speed and his ability to play all three outfield positions. He does have a little pop but his bat is too fringy to earn him the opportunity to be a starter in the big leagues. Pagan has hit .255/.306/.415 with nine homers, 39 RBIs and eight steals in 148 games with the Cubs over the last two seasons. It's a return home for Pagan. He was the Mets fourth-round pick in 1999, but they sold his contract to the Cubs for cash in 2006.

The Prospects

Coles, 25, was a fifth-round pick out of Louisiana-Lafayette in 2003. He won the high Class A Florida State league batting title with a .341 average in 2006, but his encore last year wasn't as impressive. Coles batted .286/.343/.345 with one homers, 31 RBIs and 11 steals (in 17 attempts) in 98 minor league games, mostly with Double-A Binghamton, before an ankle injury ended his season in late July. Besides his ability to hit for average, he has average speed and outfield range, but his lack of power restricts his value as a prospect.

Meyers, 22, also was a 2003 draftee, a 17th-rounder out of an Arizona high school. He made 41 relief appearances between two Class A stops (Savannah and St. Lucie) last year, going 1-4, 2.79 with 13 saves. In 52 innings, he had a 55-16 K-BB ratio and held opponents to a .229 average and four homers. Meyers throws an 88-92 mph fastball and a fringy curveball, and he projects as a middle reliever.

Quick Take

Pagan gives the Mets another center-field option if something happens to Carlos Beltran, but this deal is unlikely to matter much to either club. Neither of the prospects the Cubs received would have made our Chicago Top 30 list in the 2008 Prospect Handbook.